A Little Foraging Today !

And another one to avoid that looks similar to Queen Anne's Lace, and is found all over the place (this is from a local park):

http://kaweahoaks.com/html/poison_hemlock.html

One of these days I am going to have to try to process the acorns like the natives of California used to do. In the fall there are plenty of them to be found.
 
pitdog said:
but when I post about the stuff it hardly ever gets any response ?
Click to expand...

Those of us with small bandwidth will often have trouble with a lot of detailed pictures.

Maybe someone who knows this stuff really well should start a thread or even a
sticky on how to reduce huge picture-file sizes.

I have always liked the nature pictures, of all the posters, I but cannot always
download them.

As to the substance of your post, I used to study plants a lot; 5 days/week, I walked an
intentional garden/greenbelt with a huge diversity of plants. I did plant spotting, as I
walked plus book study at night.
Your quandary is typical of what I ran up against.

When I visited the North West, I was amazed at how many berries grew in vacant lots.
Yes, I ate them, and they were good. Locals take the blackberries for granted, =weeds.
 
Last edited:
fnc said:
When I visited the North West, I was amazed at how many berries grew in vacant lots.
Yes, I ate them, and they were good. Locals take the blackberries for granted, =weeds.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they are all over around here. I have some out of control blackberry thickets outside my house right now.

This area has a lot of wild edibles - maybe cuz it's so rainy all the time?
 
pitdog said:
I'm never sure whether to post wild edible threads on here. People often say that it's one aspect of survival that they really want to learn about but when I post about the stuff it hardly ever gets any response ?
Anyway I'll give it another go!!!!

First edible up is one that I have only recently discovered and even after reading up on it I'm still a little confused ! It's called Heracleum Lanatum, or more commonly Indian Celery.

One statement says: The young stalks and leaf stems were peeled and eaten raw.

Another says:Poisonous: Will cause blisters .

The more I read the more unsure I am to try it !!!!!

P6230001.jpg
Click to expand...

I think I can put a little more explanation to this plant. It is one of two plants that look very much alike, but are rather different...one is called queen anne's lace; this plant is non-toxic and grows in many places.

the other is called Russian Hog's Weed. This plant is phototoxic. This plant causes burn like blisters and skin irritation when you get the sap on your skin and expose it to light...here is a very reputable website that will help you tell the difference...http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/41009.html ...turns out there are a couple other plants that looks similar to this as well; it is shown in the link
 
pitdog said:
I'm never sure whether to post wild edible threads on here. People often say that it's one aspect of survival that they really want to learn about but when I post about the stuff it hardly ever gets any response ?
Anyway I'll give it another go!!!!
Click to expand...

If I may, can I ask you a couple of simple questions.

Now that your knowledge of edible and otherwise usefull plants (eg cedar root cordage) is growing, how do you feel when you venture outdoors and can see & recognise the smorgesboard of food & the tool shed that Mother nature can provide?

Are you feeling more at ease with your ability to feed yourself and make use of our Mothers bounty, irrespective of any ability to capture / kill animals to do it?

How does this contribute to your confidence in being able to survive for extended periods in the bush?

Not that my opinion is worth anything here, but I reckon you should forget about the lack of interest from the car campers & day walkers who walk along sign posted & cleared trails. This place should be about Wilderness & Survival skills, not what is effectively becoming a hiking & camping forum :thumbdn:



G'day DOC

DOC-CANADA said:
And as far as whether or not you should post wild edible threads - they are one of the few threads that actually live up to the title, Wilderness and Survival Skills, (as compared to 'See my new knife' thread).
Click to expand...
You have taken the words right out of my mouth :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:




Kind regards
Mick
 
SouthernCross said:
If I may, can I ask you a couple of simple questions.

Now that your knowledge of edible and otherwise usefull plants (eg cedar root cordage) is growing, how do you feel when you venture outdoors and can see & recognise the smorgesboard of food & the tool shed that Mother nature can provide?

Are you feeling more at ease with your ability to feed yourself and make use of our Mothers bounty, irrespective of any ability to capture / kill animals to do it?

How does this contribute to your confidence in being able to survive for extended periods in the bush?

Not that my opinion is worth anything here, but I reckon you should forget about the lack of interest from the car campers & day walkers who walk along sign posted & cleared trails. This place should be about Wilderness & Survival skills, not what is effectively becoming a hiking & camping forum :thumbdn:



G'day DOC


You have taken the words right out of my mouth :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:




Kind regards
Mick
Click to expand...

learning and expanding my own wilderness skills is why i come to wss. but the love of knives is what brought us all to bf in the first place.
thanks pitdog for your contributions! learning more about wild edibles is indeed at the top of my list of knowledge to expand
 
pitdog said:
I'm lovin it Mike. Usually I start finding some faults but other than trying to thin the grind down a little bit as I sharpen it it seems perfect ! I can finally head out without thinking " Ooh what shall I take today ????" .:thumbup:
Click to expand...

First of all love the posts on edible wild plants. That is really a part of what survival is about.

As to knives and this forum, I would have never built this design on my own. The input of people like Pit and others benefits myself and other knifemakers.
 
SouthernCross said:
If I may, can I ask you a couple of simple questions.

Now that your knowledge of edible and otherwise usefull plants (eg cedar root cordage) is growing, how do you feel when you venture outdoors and can see & recognise the smorgesboard of food & the tool shed that Mother nature can provide?

Are you feeling more at ease with your ability to feed yourself and make use of our Mothers bounty, irrespective of any ability to capture / kill animals to do it?

How does this contribute to your confidence in being able to survive for extended periods in the bush?

Not that my opinion is worth anything here, but I reckon you should forget about the lack of interest from the car campers & day walkers who walk along sign posted & cleared trails. This place should be about Wilderness & Survival skills, not what is effectively becoming a hiking & camping forum :thumbdn:



G'day DOC


You have taken the words right out of my mouth :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:




Kind regards
Mick
Click to expand...

Hey Mick, to answer ya question I feel a lot more confident when heading out now I know and recognise so many wild edibles.
I did get a little perplexed come winter but just recently I have learnt that there is food around even then ! I might do a thread about that soon.

Survival aside, spotting wild edibles just makes walks more interesting and gives ya something new to taste as you go !
 
stealthchaser13 said:
I think I can put a little more explanation to this plant. It is one of two plants that look very much alike, but are rather different...one is called queen anne's lace; this plant is non-toxic and grows in many places.

the other is called Russian Hog's Weed. This plant is phototoxic. This plant causes burn like blisters and skin irritation when you get the sap on your skin and expose it to light...here is a very reputable website that will help you tell the difference...http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/41009.html ...turns out there are a couple other plants that looks similar to this as well; it is shown in the link
Click to expand...

Hey stealthchaser, these 2 plants, Queen Anne's Lace (AKA Wild Carrot, Daucus carota) and Cow Parsnip (AKA all kinds of names :rolleyes: and Heracleum lanatum [also, it seems in some books is called H. maximum :eek:]) are very dissimilar, both in leaf structure and in size.

According to National Audubon:

Leaf: Queen Anne's Lace - 2"-8", very finely cut, fern like
Daucuscarota.jpg
- best picture I could find in a hurry.
(compare this to pitdog's picture)
Leaf: Cow Parsnip - in 3 segments (compound), each 3"-6" wide, lobed and toothed

Flowers (umbels) - Queen Anne's Lace - 3"-5" wide
Flowers (umbels) - Cow Parsnip - clusters - 4"-8" wide

Height - Queen Anne's Lace - 1' - 3'
Height - Cow Parsnip - 4'- 9'

Now in looking at the above specs, it would seem that the smaller range of Cow Parsnip and the larger range of Queen Anne's Lace could possibly make for confusion of these two plants. In practice, however, they are quite different and would make confusing the two virtually impossible to all but the most inexperienced eye. (I'm not referring to you, with this, by the way, but rather a general comment).

SouthernCross said:
Not that my opinion is worth anything here,

Kind regards
Mick
Click to expand...

Get tired of being wrong, Mick? :D Your opinion is one of the most respected in this sub forum. This forum has changed dramatically in the last few months, but give it a chance. Forums are cyclical - watch out for the swinging pendulum. :D

sadiejane said:
learning and expanding my own wilderness skills is why i come to wss. but the love of knives is what brought us all to bf in the first place.thanks pitdog for your contributions! learning more about wild edibles is indeed at the top of my list of knowledge to expand
Click to expand...

Hey sadiejane, how are you? Respectfully, it's not what brought me here. The W&SS did. My love of steel was secondary.

Doc

ETA: the forked bracts below the flowerhead of Queen Anne's Lace is also an identifying feature.
 
When I took my edibles class the instructor hated the name Queen Anne's Lace. The reason; one is wild carrot, the other poisonous hemlock and grouping them together under the same name can lead to problems. The hemlock being one of the most poisonous plants in the US, you don't want to confuse it with an edible. Another reason that if you're not sure about the plant you're looking at, don't touch it.
 
DOC-CANADA said:
Hey stealthchaser, these 2 plants, Queen Anne's Lace (AKA Wild Carrot, Daucus carota) and Cow Parsnip (AKA all kinds of names :rolleyes: and Heracleum lanatum [also, it seems in some books is called H. maximum :eek:]) are very dissimilar, both in leaf structure and in size.

According to National Audubon:

Leaf: Queen Anne's Lace - 2"-8", very finely cut, fern like
Daucuscarota.jpg
- best picture I could find in a hurry.
(compare this to pitdog's picture)
Leaf: Cow Parsnip - in 3 segments (compound), each 3"-6" wide, lobed and toothed

Flowers (umbels) - Queen Anne's Lace - 3"-5" wide
Flowers (umbels) - Cow Parsnip - clusters - 4"-8" wide

Height - Queen Anne's Lace - 1' - 3'
Height - Cow Parsnip - 4'- 9'

Now in looking at the above specs, it would seem that the smaller range of Cow Parsnip and the larger range of Queen Anne's Lace could possibly make for confusion of these two plants. In practice, however, they are quite different and would make confusing the two virtually impossible to all but the most inexperienced eye. (I'm not referring to you, with this, by the way, but rather a general comment).



Get tired of being wrong, Mick? :D Your opinion is one of the most respected in this sub forum. This forum has changed dramatically in the last few months, but give it a chance. Forums are cyclical - watch out for the swinging pendulum. :D



Hey sadiejane, how are you? Respectfully, it's not what brought me here. The W&SS did. My love of steel was secondary.

Doc

ETA: the forked bracts below the flowerhead of Queen Anne's Lace is also an identifying feature.
Click to expand...

THeres more than just queen anne's lace and cow parsnip listed in the link I posted...
 
"And as far as whether or not you should post wild edible threads - they are one of the few threads that actually live up to the title, Wilderness and Survival Skills, (as compared to 'See my new knife' thread).

Doc"

Amen Doc.
 
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